The League of Humane Voters of Ohio

Nearly 50 animals seized from home of suspected cock-fighting ring

2011-10-06T15:06:00.002-04:00

50 animals seized from Medina Township Ohio home,

courtesy CBS 19 WOIO

About 50 animals removed from a Medina Township home Thursday morning, and officials believe the owner was possibly operating a cock fighting ring…more

Unwanted Horses Growing Problem In Ohio

2011-09-23T09:00:00.004-04:00

MARENGO, Ohio - Even as a young girl, all Lynne Petitti ever dreamt of was living with a horse of her own…

Petitti is still living her dream decades later with the Circle P Sanctuary in Morrow County…

Dr. Leah Dorman of the Ohio Farm Bureau said that money is a problem. It costs $2,500 a year to care for a horse and more if they have special needs.

Dorman would rather see a horse respectfully lose its life "than to unnecessarily starve to death."

"Is there anything wrong with a horse processing facility? The answer is no. Unfortunately, we do not have horse processing facilities in the U.S. at this point,"…SEE VIDEO

Exotic-animal rules debated in secret

2011-09-23T07:34:00.002-04:00

Ohio has no rules regulating the sale and ownership of exotic animals six months after Gov. John Kasich allowed a ban enacted by his predecessor to expire…

However, new rules governing a wide range of exotic animals and reptiles are being discussed by an eclectic group in closed-door meetings convened by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The group includes representatives of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Humane Society of the U.S., Knox County prosecutor’s office, Ohio Association of Animal Owners, Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Veterinary Medical Association, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and Zoo Association of America…

The Kasich administration closed the working group’s meetings to the public and urged group members not to discuss the proceedings with the news media. However, public meetings will be held in the future, Jones said…more

Man, 80, Hospitalized In Columbus From Kangaroo Attack

2011-09-21T12:54:00.000-04:00

GREEN CAMP, Ohio - A Marion man was recovering from injuries after he was attacked by a kangaroo on Tuesday night…more

Burgess pleads in dog shelter case

2011-09-20T11:20:00.002-04:00

TROY - A New Carlisle man accused of running a dog rescue and adoption center in Piqua before city officials shut it down after it was declared a public nuisance and health hazard pleaded guilty Monday as charged to a total of 14 misdemeanor counts following a pretrial hearing in municipal court.

Jeff Burgess, 57, the former owner of One More Chance Rescue and Adoption, once located at 125 Clark Ave., entered the guilty pleas to a variety of related counts of animal cruelty and violations regarding rabies, immunization, quarantine and unsanitary conditions, in addition to three other counts related to prescription drugs found inside the facility back when it was raided last November.

A presentence investigation was ordered, but no sentencing date was set…

…Only a few dogs died, and all other dogs were adopted out to happy homes, officials with the clean up process said…more

Bear in man’s backyard raises Bethel trustee’s ire

2011-09-20T11:19:00.002-04:00

Sean Trimbach of Bets Exotics LLC, courtesy Dayton Daily News

MEDWAY — With the right bow tie, the adorable brown bear cub in the backyard of Sean Trimbach’s Crystal Lake home could pass for a real-life version of Boo-Boo…

“I’d love to get in there to wrestle around with her,” Trimbach said…

Acting on a neighbor’s recent complaint, Brown, a Bethel Twp. trustee, wants Trimbach to get rid of his bear.

“There are other houses around,” Brown said. “No one should have to live across the street from a bear.”…

Brown wants the state law changed.

“How am I supposed to tell the neighbors across the street with small children that, yes, we can regulate cows and goats, but we can’t regulate bears?” she asked…more

Hunters carry on in different world

2011-09-11T09:06:00.008-04:00

…A range of views is found among the folks who purchased about 450,000 Ohio hunting licenses in 2010. The ideological spectrum widens considerably among the state’s 11-plus million citizens who did not buy a license to kill the animals the state decrees may be killed.

Hunting licenses were purchased by about 3.9 percent — nearly one in 25 — of the state’s residents last year…

…Hunters, because they generally are in agreement and more active politically than much of the public, have a greater impact on policy than their numbers suggest.

...Many of that 3.9 percent work and spend to make sure that their gun rights aren’t impinged and that the wildlife they pursue is managed in a sustaining way…

…the ratio of active hunters to population totals has been significantly lower all around, including in Ohio…more

Dog’s death cues algae-toxin tests

2011-09-10T10:09:00.003-04:00

A Cleveland-area lab told Metro Parks officials yesterday that it detected toxins produced by algae in a Three Creeks Metro Park pond where a dog drank water and later died…

..Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, are common in Ohio lakes and streams but grow thick in water after feeding on phosphorus from manure, fertilizer and sewage that wash into waterways. The algae can excrete liver and nerve toxins that can sicken people and kill pets, fish and wildlife.

A preliminary Ohio Department of Agriculture report concluded that the dog died of severe anemia attributed to internal blood loss consistent with a bleeding disorder. The report said algae blooms can produce toxins causing liver damage that affects blood clotting, but rat poison can also affect it…

…Metro Parks also will test water samples from lakes at Prairie Oaks and Battelle Darby Creek metro parks, Deputy Director Larry Peck said. Dogs swim in those lakes.

Peck said he didn’t know the concentrations of toxins found in the Heron Pond water but that they were at potentially lethal levels.

The fatality was the first reported pet death in Ohio this year that might be associated with a toxic-algae bloom…more

Gov. John Kasich picks Sen. Tim Grendell for judicial vacancy in Geauga County, ending contentious appointment process

2011-09-09T21:05:00.006-04:00

Sen. Tim Grendell, courtesy Plain Dealer photographer John Kuntz

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio Sen. Tim Grendell will leave his post in the Senate to fill a judicial vacancy in Geauga County.

Gov. John Kasich picked Grendell for the job…

… One applicant for the job said he heard rumors that Kasich was under pressure to appoint Grendell because other Republicans in the Senate were tired of dealing with him.

"I heard that not from the governor's office, of course. Certainly that was the rumor mill that went on throughout the state of Ohio," said Ed Ryder, who applied for the judgeship and is the Geauga County GOP chairman. "That doesn't seem like much of way to make an appointment from my standpoint."…

Grendell and Ryder also clashed when Grendell turned down the House seat he won last November. Ryder criticized Grendell for manipulating the election system by running for another office, winning it and then changing his mind, remaining in the Senate…

… Senate Republicans will now have to find a replacement for Grendell, a state lawmaker for the last 11 years…more

Man who had almost 400 dogs admits cruelty

2011-09-09T09:18:00.003-04:00

… A man who hoarded nearly 400 dogs on a farm he rented in Clark County pleaded guilty yesterday to five misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a companion animal.

Howard Jeff Burgess, 57, of Xenia, was charged after Clark County humane agents seized 361 dogs in February from a property he rented west of Springfield.

...No other humane society in Ohio had ever dealt with a seizure so large, and simply finding shelter for the animals was an immediate problem.

The dogs — 387 by the time several litters were born after the seizure — were kept at the Franklin County Fairgrounds until April 8, when the last one was shipped out. Hundreds of volunteers worked round-the-clock to care for them until each one could be sent to a rescue, another shelter or a permanent or foster home.

Burgess initially had been charged in Clark County Municipal Court with 46 counts of cruelty to a companion animal, but prosecutors agreed to dismiss all but the most-serious of the offenses because, under Ohio law, Burgess can be sentenced only to a maximum of 18 months in jail. These five counts could earn him that much time.

Michael Sheils, chief prosecutor for the city of Springfield, said he has asked the court for a mental evaluation of Burgess before he is sentenced later this month.

“The hoarding issues need to be explored,” Sheils said. “The goal must be to minimize the chances of this ever happening again.”…more

Buck Shot

2011-09-09T06:29:00.033-04:00

… Solon employed professional sharpshooters for four years to thin its herds. It was costly at $345 to $570 per deer…

…An initiative headed for the town's ballot this November, organized by a vocal national activist group*, calls for a total repeal of Solon's culling ordinance…

…The Metroparks spent nearly half a million dollars over five years experimenting with a contraceptive vaccine but concluded it was not effective enough and it was difficult to deliver to free-ranging herds in large numbers.

Nonsense, says Lane Ferrante, Ohio state director of the League of Humane Voters. Her organization is largely responsible for this November's "Solon Deer Preservation Act" — the ballot initiative against lethal deer culling in Solon — and an initiative that repealed Broadview Heights' culling ordinance last year. She thinks Ohio should pursue deer birth-control methods and calls Cleveland Metroparks' concern about over-browsed vegetation threatening other wildlife habitats "a bunch of propaganda."

Ferrante doesn't believe there's an overpopulation problem. At the same time, she insists that deer culling results in a "rebound effect" that actually increases herd sizes…

…"Urban hunting is about backroom deals between hunters and the Department of Wildlife aided by legislators," says Ferrante…

…Ferrante's group was Broadview Heights Mayor Samuel Alai's worst nightmare…

…"They ran a great campaign; I'll hand it to them," Alai says…more

* Note: The League of Humane Voters of Ohio is a chapter of a national registered nonprofit 527 political action committee, not an “activist group.” Membership is open to animal lovers and currently free for Ohio residents. Click here to join!

Contract: Solon Could Pay USDA $128,000 to Cull 400 to 500 Deer

2011-09-08T21:08:00.029-04:00


Solon deer, courtesy Chris Mazzolini/Solon Patch

Solon City Council approved a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wednesday to have the federal agency run the city's deer culling program…

… That will include killing about 400 to 500 white-tailed deer, said Solon Public Works Commissioner Jim Stanek.

According to the contract, USDA sharpshooters will remove white-tailed deer from Solon using rifles with silencers in pre-approved shooting locations…more

Discount cards seek to increase dog licenses

2011-09-06T11:06:00.003-04:00

Discount cards like this will be handed out along with 2012 dog licenses for Lucas County.

…it is estimated that nearly half of the dogs in Lucas County are unlicensed.

Officials say that compares favorably with the state's other metropolitan counties, but still means some 52,000 dogs are less likely to be returned home if lost -- and more likely to be killed if impounded. Dog advocates hope two initiatives being rolled out this fall by the Lucas County Auditor's Office could change that…

"There are a lot of benefits that people don't necessarily think about, they just think of it as a tax," Ms. Lyle said…

…license fees are the primary funding source for her office. So, potentially there are hundreds of thousands of dollars in license fees not being collected across the county -- money that could be used to take care of dogs under Ms. Lyle's control, help facilitate adoptions, or pay for improvements at the pound…more

Sources of toxic algae: farms, cities

2011-09-02T09:58:00.003-04:00

Tracking phosphorus, courtesy Columbus Dispatch

Scientists know what causes the toxic blue-green algae that stain western Lake Erie every summer.

It’s phosphorus, a byproduct of sewage, fertilizers and manure…

At stake is Erie’s $10 billion-a-year fishing and tourism industry. Blue-green algae excrete liver and nerve toxins that can sicken people and kill pets, fish and other wildlife. The algae also help create an expanding oxygen-depleted “dead zone” in Lake Erie where fish cannot live.

Manure that rains wash off farms is considered the prime source of phosphorus in Grand Lake St. Marys, a 13,000-acre lake in western Ohio where the state has posted algae warnings for swimmers since 2009.

The current “bloom” of algae in Lake Erie has prompted health warnings at public beaches at Maumee Bay State Park and Kelleys Island…

Jeffrey Reutter, director of Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory of Ohio State University, said the Geological Survey’s findings don’t address the fact that the Detroit River supplies 80 percent of Lake Erie’s water.

That much water, he said, dilutes all the phosphorus going into the lake and doesn’t create algae blooms. He said satellite images that show algae spreading from the mouth of the Maumee prove his point.

“The Maumee River, it brings in 3 percent of the flow to the lake but probably 40 percent of the (lake’s) sediment,” he said.

“You could make a big improvement in the Detroit River, but you’re still going to have the harmful algae problem in Maumee Bay.”…more

Warnings back at 2 beaches on Buckeye Lake

2011-09-02T09:02:00.004-04:00

algae warnings, courtesy Columbus Dispatch

Toxic blue-green algae have re-emerged at Buckeye Lake, prompting state officials to post health warnings yesterday at two public beaches…

The microcystin concentrations do exceed a state-set standard of 6 parts per billion in water, meant to protect children…

Blue-green algae are common in most Ohio lakes and streams, but they can grow thick feeding on phosphorus contained in sewage, manure and fertilizers that rains wash into streams.

The algae can excrete as many as four types of liver and nerve toxins in water, which can sicken people and kill pets, fish and wildlife…

Last summer, the state posted warnings at 20 state waterways…more

Columbus Dispatch editorial: Grand bargain

2011-09-02T09:02:00.001-04:00

Well, how about that: Political compromise isn’t dead, after all.

That’s one more thing to celebrate about the groundbreaking new rules that will apply to livestock care in Ohio starting Sept. 29.

Ohio has standards of which it can be proud and which will please consumers, who are increasingly intolerant of tightly confining crates and pens for veal calves and hogs, surgically removing dairy cows’ tails and other practices many consider inhumane…more

Deer Birth Control Could Prevent Collisions

2011-09-01T15:44:00.002-04:00

white-tailed deer fawn

…A birth control injection for deer puts them completely out of the mood to mate for up to five years without a booster. GonaCon, as the birth control is called, even eliminates dangerous and destructive courtship behaviors responsible for the autumn increase in collisions between cars and deer…

…The vaccine causes deer to produce antibodies that destroy the GnRH before it can ever trigger the sex hormones. USDA studies on white-tailed deer, free-ranging California ground squirrels, captive Norway rats, domestic and feral swine and wild horses have shown GonaCon to be effective in a wide range of animals.

The birth control vaccine could even be useful for pets and domesticated animals that have not been spayed or neutered. In cats, for example, scent-spraying, fighting, wandering, and caterwauling could be controlled…more

All sides hail new livestock-care rules

2011-08-29T08:29:00.010-04:00

State agriculture chief Jim Zehringer, seen in front of an Ohio Historical Society photo, acknowleges that the process was a struggle but credits public input in the sweeping result.

Photo courtesy Tom Dodge, Columbus Dispatch

In one of those rare events in government, calmer heads prevailed, averting a costly, divisive political campaign in 2009. Now, two years later, the result is comprehensive farm-animal rules that catapult Ohio to the forefront of the nation…more

Cat executed for panting in Lebanon, Ohio

2011-08-27T20:11:00.003-04:00

Open Season on Cats in Lebanon, Ohio

Imagine you’re an 8-year old, overweight cat, who wandered away from home and got lost…

You’re just about ready to leave, when a human with a gun strides into the yard and points it at you. Since you’re a pet cat and you’re not feral, you’re not afraid of humans, and of course you have no idea what a gun is. So you just lie there, not knowing you’re about to get shot in the head and die. What was your crime? You lay down and panted in a neighbor’s yard, in the city of Lebanon, Ohio, where policemen with no veterinary knowledge whatsoever can execute cats on sight just for looking sick.

This is what happened to Dori Stone’s cat, Haze, who went missing Friday, August 19, and was shot one day later by a police officer whose identity has been withheld…

“We love our cats, do you know what it was like to pull your pet . . . out of the garbage bag and his head is bloody with a bullet hole in it?”

says Stone…

…Stone says that Haze was well-groomed and obviously not a stray. He wasn’t wearing tags, but she had reported her missing cat to the Humane Association, who the police never contacted. According to WKRC, Stone and her husband “plan to lobby for changes in the police policy.” Hopefully, it will be in time to save the next supposedly sick, stray cat…more